Wilderness and trail preservation is vital to the well-being of humanity. If it is destroyed or closed -- and man can no longer enjoy nature as our ancestors did -- then we all will have lost something precious and irreplaceable.

There are few who do not feel better about themselves and their surroundings when in the wilderness. A day's ride or hike from a trailhead brings a welcome change. Interests and activities that were of great importance a few hours earlier give way to stimulated sensations generated by new sights and smells. The excitement of a trail ride pushes aside events that yesterday seemed so vital and thoughts of business and home shrink to their true worth.

The satisfaction of accomplishment is given a broader dimension, perhaps a fuller meaning, for most of us consider this kind of undertaking a genuine test of our self-reliance. We are filled with new confidence, as concerns diminish, leaving us with the capacity to enjoy our newfound solitude and natural surroundings.

In our world of machines, noise and distractions, the mind becomes confused and our sense of values change. Sleeping beneath a pine, high on a mountainside, you get acquainted with that vast world of God's creatures that is more and more being banished from our consciousness and forgotten.

Peace and contentment come . . . and when we return to the slavery of our inhuman world, it will be with enlightened minds and revived souls.

As we ride our trails and visit our precious wilderness preserves, let us recall and practice the code of the wilderness: take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints or hoofprints.

Trails are part of our American heritage. Their development paralleled our own progress militarily, politically, economically, and socially. They were the gateways to frontiers -- to the unknown, the new and better place. We are a nation of explorers and exploring is deep in our spirit and customs.

In America today there are thousands of miles of trails. They can be narrow, winding, and overgrown, disappearing into the underbrush, or a paved path where many can walk to view a scenic wonder. These trails follow old animal runways, ancient Indian paths, the routes of trapper-explorers and our struggling pioneers. They are utility and recreational; they provide both fire access for forest management and routes leading to fine fishing in some beautiful alpine lake.

A rapid change is taking place in our wilderness. Many designated wilderness areas are becoming heavily used and in some cases abused. People want to visit them and are doing so in increasing numbers.

A study by the University of California reports that our wilderness areas are vanishing at the rate of one million acres per year.

Trail riding and hiking have been for some time the leading forms of outdoor recreation, but trails and wilderness areas have not been established as fast as the demand. Certain trailheads look like a freeway at rush hour, which is all the more reason to step up the building of a nationwide network of trails and access trails as diligently as we constructed a network of highways for transporting people and goods -- to get the citizens of this country on their feet and to improve their health and outlook . . . as riding and hiking have been demonstrated to do.

Once on the trail, we are reminded that this form of recreation requires little or no petroleum energy and has the least impact on the environment. If we drive long distances to reach a trail, we use up energy -- so why aren't there more trails near home?

Programs of trail-building are being carried on in many urban population centers. Managed privately and publicly, these short trails provide access to historic sites and the natural beauty of our country. Some of them have been designated part of the National Trails System.

To persons interested in local trail development, there are good guiding principles in the National Trails Systems Act that established the Pacific Crest Trail as a national scenic trail in 1968 and provided for systems of national recreational trails. The National Trail System is the federal government's commitment to improve the quality of leisure and recreation in America. Presently there are 29 National Recreational Trails in the system. Also included in the trail system are the Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails, both of them over 2,000 miles long.

The recreation trails are in or close to urban population centers. They range in length from just under a quarter-mile to 30 miles. On many of these trails, horses, hikers and bikers share the same trail. Two trails are used by snowmobiles in winter. Also under study are several longer trails to be included in the system of scenic trails. The Continental Divide Trail would follow Rocky Mountain summits. The routes of Lewis and Clark, the cattle drives in Texas and the settlers bound for Oregon are some of those to be considered. In the East the existing Long Trail and proposed North Country Trail will be studied for possible designation as part of this scenic trail system.

However, a program of acquiring and preserving trails can exist only as long as public opinion and interest allows. Public opinion can change very rapidly away from preserving trails and wilderness areas toward support of pipelines and dams. In the name of some national emergency -- such as energy -- legislators can react swiftly, opposing new trails and new wilderness preserves. Some legislatures do this whether or not there is an emergency.

More people should understand the values of their public lands. A trail, for example, is a tour through some of the greatest miracles on the face of the earth. These are not always easy to see, but they must be recognized and understood, for understanding leads to appreciation, and appreciation leads to protection.